Nakamoto denies creating Bitcoin

The man Newsweek tagged as the creator of bitcoin on Monday gave his strongest denial yet that he had anything to do with the virtual currency.

In a statement provided by his lawyer, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto said he “unconditionally” rejected the March 6 Newsweek report and said the first time he heard the term “bitcoin” was from his son in mid-February.

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“I did not create, invent or otherwise work on Bitcoin,” he said in a statement.

Nakamoto denied he created bitcoin the day after the story came out in an interview with The Associated Press, but Newsweek said it stood behind the story. This kicked off a round of speculation about who is right and whether Nakamoto was simply trying to avoid unwanted attention.

The 64-year-old was swarmed by a throng of reporters at his home early this month after the Newsweek cover story said he was the elusive “Satoshi Nakamoto,” an Internet figure or figures associated with creating bitcoin in 2008, who then disappeared from public view in 2011.

In his statement Monday, Nakamoto made clear there is no ambiguity in his denial.

“My prospects for gainful employment has been harmed because of Newsweek’s article,” said Nakamoto, an engineer. “Newsweek’s false report has been the source of a great deal of confusion and stress for myself, my 93-year-old mother, my siblings and their families.”

Nakamoto said he disconnected his Internet service last year because of “severe financial distress” and that he is recovering from prostate surgery and a stroke.

He said it would be his last public statement on the matter.

“Newsweek has not received any statement or letter from either Mr. Nakamoto or his legal counsel,” the magazine said in a statement on its website Monday. “If and when we do, we will respond as necessary.”

Newsweek’s story “The Face Behind Bitcoin” — which marked the relaunch of the magazine’s print edition — cited a driveway interview with Nakamoto, flanked by police, wherein he said he was “no longer involved in that.”

Nakamoto later told the AP he was not referring to bitcoin.

”After being contacted by a reporter, my son called me and used the word, which I had never before heard,” Nakamoto said in his statement. “Shortly thereafter, the reporter confronted me at my home. I called the police. I never consented to speak with the reporter. In an ensuing discussion with a reporter from the Associated Press, I called the technology ‘bitcom.’ I was still unfamiliar with the term.”